Metronome
by Blacknovelist
Summary: There's never a dull moment when you're part of the All Might Guild! (A series of loosely related oneshots set in the Heroes of Time/Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky AU)


**A/N: so this is the new addition to the Heroes of Time (BNHA/PMD) series, so named cause metronome calls upon almost every move at random and it works well to title a series of unrelated oneshots and drabbles my brain insists I do within the context of the series. No more hunting through moves and abilities for me, and no more not jotting down goofy ideas for me!**

**this one in particular is an expansion on a completely irrelevant worldbuilding tidbit I saw in my timeline notes (having two names/a last name is a human thing), and the evolution of another random and irrelevant (and probably nonsensical) idea I had, which was: what if the guild kids cooked dinner sometimes? I mean, given the scale I'm imagining All Might's guild... chores like sentry duty and cooking and board replacement are probably things that everyone gets around to doing at one point or another. So even if it doesn't make sense, I guess that's how it is now! you can pry it from my cold dead hands. :)**

**Edit: it completely slipped my mind that I should write what pokemon everyone is! Sorry, guys. Izuku is a riolu, Ochako is an eevee with a particular affinity for special moves, and Tenya is a totodile. **

**Generic Disclaimer: while the concept for the Heroes of Time AU is mine, the content they're based on (explorers of time/darkness/sky and bnha) aren't mine, lmao.**

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"Ah, hey, Ochako, Tenya? Can I ask you guys something?"

"Of course," Tenya says, pausing in his kneading. Ochako doesn't look up from her attack on the berries that will eventually join dinner, though one ear tweaks back towards them both. "What is it?"

"Well, um." Izuku fidgets, scraping at the bottom of the pot he's stirring before setting the little wooden spoon aside. "I was just kind of thinking... when we first met, all I really knew was my name, right?"

Tenya and Ochako both make noises of confirmation.

Izuku sniffs at the simmering concoction and tosses a handful of spice in. "When you introduced yourselves, it was as "Tenya" and "Ochako,"" he says, "but when I introduced myself, I had two names - Izuku and Midoriya. And I noticed that most of the pokemon we've met don't have two names, so I wanted to ask you guys if it's... weird? That I have two names?"

"Oh..." Ochako hums for a moment, tugging at the berry basket and tipping more into her bowl. "Well, it's not really weird. Just uncommon."

"Indeed!" Tenya nods as he portions dough. "A second name is supposed to represent your family, since having the same second name as someone else means you're related to them in some way."

"Apparently it's something that we picked up from humans," Ochako adds. "All of them look the same, so they need extra names to tell each other apart. Most of us don't need a second name though 'cause we can just look or sniff or ask each other and figure it out from there!"

"I see." Izuku sighs, relieved. "That makes sense. Thanks, guys."

"You're very welcome," Tenya says. Ochako slides one of the chopped-berry plates over and, with one eye on a little cheat-sheet pinned to the wall, he begins wrapping.

Ochako carries the other bowl to Izuku, then looks at him for a moment. "It's kinda funny, though," she says. "I didn't really think about it until just now, but other than you, Deku, I think the only one I've ever met with two names is All Might."

Everyone stops and thinks about it.

"That's true," Tenya blinks. "Perhaps it's just less common here and more common in more distant regions?"

"Maybe," Izuku assents.

"Does that mean Deku and All Might might be from the same place?" Ochako asks. "Maybe he even knows about who you used to be!"

There's a beat of silence, then snickering.

"Yeah, right." Izuku picks the spoon back up. "It's probably just a coincidence. Besides, he's a lot older than all of us, right? He was probably out going on expeditions and things by the time I was born."

"I'm sure he would have said something if he knew Izuku," Tenya says loudly, free arm waving. "There's no reason why he'd withhold that kind of information if he had it, after all!"

"You're right." She giggles. "Still, could you imagine if you'd walked into the guildmaster's room on the first day and All Might said-" she puffs out her chest, ears flattening as she schools her face- "'Young Izuku, it's been so long!' And then you'd have to tell him you don't remember him or anything else at all, so if he could introduce himself to you again, it would be great!"

Her teammates wheeze, Izuku stepping away from his station so he doesn't knock anything over as he laughs.

"That's too much." He rubs at an eye. "It would be so embarrassing, I'd die!"

"Come now, I'm sure you wouldn't go as far as to _die_," Tenya chides, though there's a glimmer of amusement in his eye. "Anyways, that's enough on that, I think. We still need to finish dinner!"

"Right, right!" Ochako bounces over, plopping the totodile's finished pastries onto a plate. "But anyway, don't worry about your name, Deku. It just adds to your charm!"

"A-ah, charm?"

"Yep! The mysteriously friendly new kid with the different name." She winks.

Izuku just blushes and douses his cooking fire.


End file.
